Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News

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Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News

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The new store will be Trader Joe’s second in San Antonio. Its first location opened in November 2012 at 350 E. Basse Road in the Quarry Village. (Express-News file photo)

The new store will be Trader Joe’s second in San Antonio. Its first location opened in November 2012 at 350 E. Basse Road in the Quarry Village. (Express-News file photo)

Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News

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Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News

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Manager Jorge Macias tries to help move customers through the checkout lanes as Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Manager Jorge Macias tries to help move customers through the checkout lanes as Trader Joe's at 350 East Basse Road opens for business on November 2, 2012.

Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News

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Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Neal Morton, San Antonio Express-News

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Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Neal Morton, San Antonio Express-News

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Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Neal Morton, San Antonio Express-News

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Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Neal Morton, San Antonio Express-News

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Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Neal Morton, San Antonio Express-News

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Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Neal Morton, San Antonio Express-News

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Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Neal Morton, San Antonio Express-News

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Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Neal Morton, San Antonio Express-News

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Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Big crowds greeted the grand opening of the Trader Joe's at the Quarry Village on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Neal Morton, San Antonio Express-News

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San Antonio's Trader Joe's opened Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

San Antonio's Trader Joe's opened Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Ana Ley/Express-News

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San Antonio's Trader Joe's opened Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

San Antonio's Trader Joe's opened Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Ana Ley/Express-News

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San Antonio's Trader Joe's opened Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

San Antonio's Trader Joe's opened Friday, Nov. 2, 2012.

Photo: Ana Ley/Express-News

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Jessica Bargo rings up a customer at the newly opened Trader Joe's at Alamo Quarry Village Friday morning. Bargo normally works at the chain's Fort Worth store, but she was working at the San Antonio location on opening day.

Jessica Bargo rings up a customer at the newly opened Trader Joe's at Alamo Quarry Village Friday morning. Bargo normally works at the chain's Fort Worth store, but she was working at the San Antonio location

Outside San Antonio's first Trader Joe's, a steel drum player distracted shoppers as they waited to cross a parking lot filled with a sea of vehicles carrying committed fans and curious newcomers to the store Friday.

Off-duty police officers directed traffic into the grocer's small parking lot in the Quarry Village at 350 E. Basse Road. As the lunch rush approached, the winding checkout line inside the store paralleled the lengthening queue of drivers that extended from the clogged intersection of Jones Maltsberger and Basse roads to the nearby northbound exit lane on U.S. 281.

Even after 2 p.m., bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked its way along Basse Road between the highway and Broadway.

This might be the new shopping experience that the Quarry Market offers for months to come, said Kim Gatley, vice president of the commercial real estate firm NAI REOC San Antonio.

“I don't see this just being a one-weekend or one-week craze,” she said, noting new retailers routinely draw higher customer traffic.

“We expected a very strong opening from Trader Joe's, but it's not likely to trail off soon,” she said. “I think Trader Joe's has quite a following, and it will be a popular destination within that whole Alamo Quarry area for a long time.”

With few exceptions, the crowds of customers flowing in and out of the new Trader Joe's early Friday didn't seem to mind each other or store workers who quickly restocked shelves and produce bins.

About 11 a.m., more than 70 shoppers, some with fussy children in tow, formed a line that nearly wrapped around the entire 11,000-square-foot store. Employees tried to keep them calm, bearing samples of the grocer's more than 2,000 unique and mostly private-label selections.

“We can't do this right now,” said Paul Rogers, who guided his wife back to their car when he saw the line.

A San Antonio native, Rogers said he has never visited a Trader Joe's and eagerly anticipated the store's arrival, especially since construction delays postponed its opening by two weeks.

“It's literally right down the street from me,” the 36-year-old Alamo Heights resident said. “Once the craze dies down, we'll come see what the hubbub's about.”

Like Gatley, Rogers accepted that may take awhile and speculated that the rush might not calm down as the holiday shopping season accelerates.

“It's been a high priority,” he said. “It's an exciting time, and we want to make sure everything flows smoothly and everybody can get what they need quickly.”

Though the Trader Joe's parking lot offers about 70 spaces, Onken said Reata has increased signage in the Quarry Village to advertise the nearly 200 additional spaces available in two parking garages set aside for retail visitors.

The agency also has made arrangements with the grocer to ensure shopping carts don't litter the area.

“We didn't want to carve out a bunch of parking spots for cart collection,” Onken said. “That's really the tenant's job to collect those carts. We're going to look to Trader Joe's to handle that.”

Regardless of the potential for stray carts, Onken expected Trader Joe's would add to the Quarry Market's attractiveness to shoppers across the city.

As more customers like Rogers visit the retail hub to explore the new grocery store, they likely will boost the sales of surrounding stores, Gatley said.

“During a quick stop (to Trader Joe's), it'll be just as alluring to customers to run into another place for a minute to check out a sale,” she said. “The tenants feed off the activity of each other.”

The activity remained hectic as Trader Joe's first day progressed.

Carole Steger said she felt like she was tap-dancing with other customers as she filled her cart with $100 worth of groceries, including Trader Joe's private-label wine, Charles Shaw — famously nicknamed Two-Buck Chuck.

The name stems from its typical $1.99 price tag, though crew members at the San Antonio store said all Trader Joe's in Texas priced it at $2.99.

“It's still worth it.” said Steger, who grew familiar with Trader Joe's in her hometown of Laguna Beach, Calif. “You pay a little for a lot of quality.

“It's not that you can't get these things elsewhere, but the quality of the food is reliable. You get spoiled.”